Loyal
Have you ever wondered what kind of "soil" certain people are? What kind of soil are you?
Matt 13:18; "Hear then the parable of the sower.
Matt 13:19; "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.
Matt 13:20; "The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
Matt 13:21; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.
Matt 13:22; "And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
Matt 13:23; "And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."
Jesus is explaining a parable He told a few verses earlier, it starts off like this.
Matt 13:3; And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, ""Behold, the sower went out to sow;
Matt 13:4; "and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.
Matt 13:5; ""Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil.
I live in a farming town. Most of the people who live here are farmers. The largest industry in this town is farming. There is a sign about 40 miles from here that says we are the greatest agriculturally producing county in the state.
I've watched farmer plant crops. They are very particular about what kind of soil they spread seeds on.
But in this story, it seems the "sower" just spreads seeds all over the place, on all different kinds of soil. I wondered about this. Why does He do this?
Some of the seeds fell on the path. The path is packed down from being walked on over a period of time.
The seeds can't get down into the soil. Have you ever been walked on? Do you know people who have been walked on?
Some of the seeds fell on "the rocky places". Why would a farmer put seeds on a rocky place. The farmers I know try to avoid doing this.
Some of the seeds fell among the thorns and weeds. These seeds got "choked out" by worry and deceitfulness. I know none of us ever worry about anything... right? None of us have ever been deceived?
And finally... of course some of the seed fell on "good soil". This soil has been prepared. Maybe watered, maybe fertilized. Most likely plowed and broken. Usually broken up (plowed) soil is the best kind of soil to put seeds into, so they can get down into the dirt. I think sometimes broken people... even us, maybe there was a time when we were broken in our lives. I think broken people are often the most receptive people to hearing the word of God. It says this kind of soil produces, 100, or 60, or 30 fold.
It seems that "breaking ground" is usually a traumatic, sometimes violent experience. Some ground is pretty packed, and it takes a lot to "break it up".
I even wondered why some soils produce more than other soils.
It seems that God spreads the word to all kinds of people all over the face of the earth.
He doesn't care what kind of soil you are. He gives everyone a chance to produce equally.
Maybe you were shallow dirt once, maybe you were a "rock" (with a heart of stone). Maybe you had been walked on. Or maybe you were broken up to the point you were ready to listen to God. But whatever kind of soil you were once.... it must have worked. Thank God for spreading the seeds to all kinds of "soil".
Matt 13:18; "Hear then the parable of the sower.
Matt 13:19; "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.
Matt 13:20; "The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
Matt 13:21; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.
Matt 13:22; "And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
Matt 13:23; "And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."
Jesus is explaining a parable He told a few verses earlier, it starts off like this.
Matt 13:3; And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, ""Behold, the sower went out to sow;
Matt 13:4; "and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.
Matt 13:5; ""Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil.
I live in a farming town. Most of the people who live here are farmers. The largest industry in this town is farming. There is a sign about 40 miles from here that says we are the greatest agriculturally producing county in the state.
I've watched farmer plant crops. They are very particular about what kind of soil they spread seeds on.
But in this story, it seems the "sower" just spreads seeds all over the place, on all different kinds of soil. I wondered about this. Why does He do this?
Some of the seeds fell on the path. The path is packed down from being walked on over a period of time.
The seeds can't get down into the soil. Have you ever been walked on? Do you know people who have been walked on?
Some of the seeds fell on "the rocky places". Why would a farmer put seeds on a rocky place. The farmers I know try to avoid doing this.
Some of the seeds fell among the thorns and weeds. These seeds got "choked out" by worry and deceitfulness. I know none of us ever worry about anything... right? None of us have ever been deceived?
And finally... of course some of the seed fell on "good soil". This soil has been prepared. Maybe watered, maybe fertilized. Most likely plowed and broken. Usually broken up (plowed) soil is the best kind of soil to put seeds into, so they can get down into the dirt. I think sometimes broken people... even us, maybe there was a time when we were broken in our lives. I think broken people are often the most receptive people to hearing the word of God. It says this kind of soil produces, 100, or 60, or 30 fold.
It seems that "breaking ground" is usually a traumatic, sometimes violent experience. Some ground is pretty packed, and it takes a lot to "break it up".
I even wondered why some soils produce more than other soils.
It seems that God spreads the word to all kinds of people all over the face of the earth.
He doesn't care what kind of soil you are. He gives everyone a chance to produce equally.
Maybe you were shallow dirt once, maybe you were a "rock" (with a heart of stone). Maybe you had been walked on. Or maybe you were broken up to the point you were ready to listen to God. But whatever kind of soil you were once.... it must have worked. Thank God for spreading the seeds to all kinds of "soil".
